Brown Rice with Creole Sauce

Brown Rice with Creole Sauce

Don't let the long list of ingredients (mostly seasonings) discourage you from trying this recipe.  It's an easy, quick, versatile dish that is great for rice, and I think would work really well over fish, chicken, or other grains.

I found this recipe in the Fire & Spice cookbook that I reference so often.  I like many of the recipes, organized by region of the world.

David especially liked this creole sauce.

Thomas did as well.

There was a strong flavor that I wasn't terribly fond of - but I liked the idea of this dish.

I think I'll play with the ingredients and try it again.

While your rice is cooking, you saute green bell pepper, onion, celery, a seeded jalapeno pepper, and garlic in some olive oil.  I covered it and let the vegetables soften for about 10 minutes.

Then you add an undrained can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, file powder, brown sugar, lemon juice, cider vinegar, mustard, cayenne, and salt & pepper to the sauteed vegetables. I stirred it, and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.

At this point the kitchen smelled fantastic, but I knew that my kids wouldn't be thrilled with the chunks of tomatoes and peppers, so I decided to use the blender and turn it into a thicker sauce.

We served it over the rice, which was a great complement and helped cut the heat in the sauce.



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Enjoy!

Almond Miso Dip

Almond Miso Dip

The June 2012 Vegetarian Times had an article on helping kids eat more raw vegetables, especially as snacks.  They included three healthy dips that might make crudite time more palatable for kids. 

I made the first of these dips this weekend.

Thomas and Brennan do well with raw vegetables, so I don't think they necessarily need a dip to be enticed to eat them with dinner, but a yummy dip never hurts!

I was really surprised how well they liked this dip.

Brennan declared it "the best dip he's ever had". 

So there you go.  Ringing endorsement.

Right off I have to say this version was technically "Peanut Miso Dip" because we were out of Almond Butter.  It worked really well with the peanut butter.  I think it would be great with almond or cashew butter as well.

I mixed the dip up in a small saucepan.

I heated natural apple juice, then added in miso, dissolving it well.  Then I stirred in the peanut butter, and put some in a small bowl for each of us. 

That night we had yellow peppers, carrot sticks, and daikon radish with dinner - they all worked great with this dip. 

David thought the carrots were best. 

Brennan doesn't like bell peppers, but I asked him to try the pepper with this dip, seeing if it made a difference.  It didn't.  Peppers are still on his short list of foods he won't eat, and that's OK.

And still plenty leftover for snacks and lunch the next day.



I will say that this is not a dip I'd want to eat everyday, but it apparently is a hit with kids, or at least the ones in our house!

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Enjoy!



Lemon Mousse

Lemon Mousse

Let me start by saying this is the strangest recipe I've made in awhile.

Wait until you see the ingredients.

I am always on the lookout for a delicious dessert recipe that also uses fresh produce.

And Lemon Mousse?  Sounded great!

I found this recipe in Gillian McKeith's You Are What You Eat cookbook - one that I reference a lot!  She encourages her clients to try this recipe because so many are lacking in essential fatty acids, which can lead to a number of health issues.

A healthy lemon dessert?  I was certainly willing to give it a try.

You start by zesting one lemon, then peeling four, cutting them in half and removing the seeds.

You place the lemons in the food processor along with 4 peeled avocados, fresh lemon juice, fresh orange juice, pitted dates, and maple syrup.

With all those yummy avocados, there's no way this Lemon Mousse was going to be yellow.

And shouldn't Lemon Mousse be yellow??

Once it's super smooth, you spoon the mousse into individual dishes and chill for 2 hours before serving.

Looks like guacamole, doesn't it?

Top with lemon zest, and serve.

The Results:

David and Thomas thought it was waaaay too tart, and they'd cut the lemons in half.

I liked the flavor - it's really tart from all those fresh lemons, and I liked the texture.

 I'd eat this dish again, but....

It was almost heart breaking to me to use up those delicious avocados and dates in this way.

I love each and every one of the ingredients that are combined in this (rather strange) dish.

I think I'd just rather eat them individually.

Note:  cover with Saran Wrap if you don't eat them all that day or they won't look awesome the next day.

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Bon Appetit!

Blended Mango Salad Smoothie

Blended Mango Salad Smoothie

I saw this recipe in the book Eat to Live and thought it sounded like a great way to get some extra greens in, assuming it was tasty.

This is a great smoothie (or "blended salad" as Dr. Fuhrman calls it)!

We loved the texture, and it's actually pretty sweet.

I've made it a couple of times now - it's a great time of year when mangoes are plentiful and inexpensive!

I peeled and sliced up a mango and added it to the blender, along with 1 cup of chopped kale.

I blended it well, then added half of the romaine, and blended again.

Then I added 1/4 c of milk or milk alternative (almond milk, or soy milk, or rice milk...) and the rest of the romaine and blended it one final time.

It's thick and sweet, and really good.

I would recommend chilling it in the glass or the blender for a few minutes though - it tastes especially good cold.

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Enjoy!

Tunisian Couscous

Tunisian Couscous

I saw this recipe in Fire & Spice and thought it would be great to use up the turnips I had bought for a recent soup.  I don't remember ever cooking with turnips before, so it was great to add another vegetable to our growing list of Boatwright-approved vegetables.

It's amazing to me how, after the turnips are cooked, they could easily pass for potatoes.

They really make this dish.

This is another customizable dish that you can make as spicy or mild as you like.

The traditional Tunisian Couscous is apparently really fiery, but I cut back on the Harissa Sauce in order to make it family-friendly.

I heated olive oil over medium heat and added sliced carrots, turnips, red bell pepper, and garlic.  I covered it and let the vegetables soften for about 10 minutes.

 

Then I added in vegetable broth, soy sauce, turmeric, cayenne, and salt & pepper and let it cook uncovered for 45 minutes.  Finally I stirred in tomatoes (I used tomato sauce but the original calls for diced tomatoes), chickpeas, and other spices and simmer it until heated through.

During this final step I cooked couscous according to package directions.

We really like couscous, and it is so quick to fix!

I used this couscous, but any would work.

Serve the vegetables and sauce over the couscous!

The flavors are great and it heats up really well for lunch the next day!

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الهنا والشفا

(Arabic for Bon Appetit!)